


Hunted

by Tivaholic



Category: NCIS, mcabby - Fandom, tiva - Fandom
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-29
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:35:46
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 5,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27268849
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tivaholic/pseuds/Tivaholic
Summary: With a threat towards them, the team is forced into hiding. What secrets will be revealed in their closed space? Will they be able to recover?
Relationships: Timothy McGee/Abby Sciuto, Ziva David/Anthony DiNozzo
Comments: 1
Kudos: 22





	1. Chapter One

Ziva David stepped out of the elevator with an extra pep in her step. She had a good night last night. Got to go home early, read a book, took a warm bath, and got a good night’s rest. Those didn’t happen too much recently. Especially since Somalia. 

She made her way to her desk to see the rest of the team already there. Even Tony. She looked over to the man of thought and saw him intently staring at his screen, writing things down. She looked around and saw the other two doing the exact same thing. Something was up.

“What is going on?” They looked up at her like they just realized she was there. Gibbs and Tony stood up and walked over to her. Gibbs made a follow me motion with his head and they followed him up to MTAC with McGee right behind them. 

When they made it inside, Ziva repeated her question. Adamant to find out what was going on. Gibbs gave a look to the technicians in the room, which they quickly received as a “get out” look. When the door was closed, they all looked at her. She had a feeling her day wasn’t going to stay so bright and peachy. 

“Gibbs?” He sighed.

“Does the name Arif Hassan mean anything to you?” The name did sound familiar, but she couldn’t place it. The boys seeing that she was deep in thought decided to give her a minute to see if she could place the name to a face. 

“I feel like I have heard that name before but I cannot place it.” Tony stepped forward.

“What about Amir Hassan?” Now that name did ring a bell. Sirens were going off in her head as she wanted to forget about this man. Forget about his group. She was told that he was dead. Why bring him up if he was dead?

Seeing her reaction, Gibbs put a hand on her shoulder. 

“That man is dead.” Gibbs nodded.

“But his brother isn’t. I found this on my desk this morning.” He pulled out a sheet of paper that was put inside an evidence bag. It read:

Special Agent Gibbs,

You have someone on your team that needs to pay the price. Ziva David is to not be trusted. She is a traitor to her country, to her family. She killed my brother so that means she dies. We will find her without your help or not. If you decide to help her, then you will be on our list as well. Choose wisely.

H

Ziva read over the letter three times. She couldn’t believe it. After 15 years, this was coming back to bite her.

“Who is this guy? How do you know him?” She sighed.

“It was a Mossad case. I cannot disclose that information.” Gibbs sighed in frustration.

“This is about your life. Everyone on this team’s lives. Tell me. It won’t leave this room.” She very hesitantly nodded.

“It was my first real case with Mossad. The Hassan brothers were international arms dealers responsible for many...deaths in Israel. More importantly, Tel Aviv.” Tony saw the sadness along with the anger in her eyes. What did they do to her? 

“They made many attempts...to kill my father. Made many attempts to infiltrate Mossad Headquarters with the group that they had. That man, Amir, hated my father more than all of them. Wanted to bring him down any way that he could. He found the one weakness that he had. His family. He killed my mother… and my sister.” She couldn’t stand any longer. She moved over to one of the seats and sat down. She closed her eyes, the overwhelming feeling of emotion was almost too much. She did not want to break down. Couldn’t. 

Gibbs turned to McGee.

“Find him.” McGee nodded and left the room quickly as to begin the search. 

Tony walked over and sat next to her. He knew how she felt about public displays of affection so he just saw sat there, hoping his presence would be enough right now. Gibbs looked back at his agent, the person who had saved him more than once. Who he considered a daughter. 

“Ziver.” He spoke softly. Ziva looked up at him. 

“We’re gonna get him. It just might take time. We need all that you can give us. Details, family members, other members of his organization. Until then, we need to take precautions.” He pulled out his phone and typed in a number. Tony and Ziva didn’t know who he had dialed until he spoke.

“Leon.” He walked out of earshot to the pair. Tony leaned over the seat and lightly put his hand over hers. 

“I’m not gonna ask if your okay because I already know the answer that you’re going to give me. Just know, I’m here for you. The whole team is.” She nodded, not having the strength right now to speak. How could this come up now? Why would this come up now? She thought after everything was...handled, everything would be better. Things could become a new normal. Turns out it was only temporary. Her father would surely ring her out if he found out she spoke of a past confidential Mossad operation, but at this point, she couldn’t care less. She wanted nothing to do with her father. Wanted nothing to do with Mossad. She was her own woman. She would handle this situation a bit differently than she did before, but she would still put every last effort into finding Arif even if it was the last thing that she did. And that was entirely possible. 

Gibbs strolled back over to them, putting his phone back on its holder. 

“The director’s on his way.” They both nodded. No longer than a minute later, Leon Vance came barging into the room. He and Gibbs had a discussion while Tony and Ziva just sat and waited quietly. 

“We are going under lockdown. The team is being placed under protection. I will arrange a safe house. You leave tonight.” With that, Vance walked out of the room, more than likely heading to his office. Ziva finally stood up.

“Gibbs. This is ridiculous. Just let me go. This is my mess. I will handle it.” Gibbs’ eyes had a look of anger in them.

“We are a team, David. What’s yours is ours. Now pack your bags and meet back up in the bullpen at 2000 hours.” He walked out of the room, slamming the door on his way out. The pair looked at one another. Tony was the one to break the tension.

“Guess we should go pack.” Ziva sighed and hesitantly nodded. They both walked out of MTAC unsure of what was going to happen next.


	2. Chapter Two

Ziva had just gotten home. She couldn’t believe that this was happening. Couldn’t believe her past was coming back to bite her yet again. What was it going to take for people to leave her alone?

“Death.” Her mind reminded her. She feared for the safety of her team. They were being put into danger because of her, something that has happened before. 

What if she just disappeared? Left without a trace? She could do it with her training from Mossad. The team would surely be pissed with her but it was a way to keep them safe. She loved them too much to let anything happen to them. Mid-thought, there was a knock on her door. She unholstered her SIG from her side, and cautiously walked to the door. She looked through the peephole to see Tony standing on the other side. She sighed and opened the door. 

“What are you doing here, Tony?” She put her gun on the table beside her door and walked more into her living room. 

“We knew you might make a break for it once you left, so the boss man told me to come get you.” She glared at him. 

“This is my fault, Tony. You and the others should not be pulled into this.” Tony shrugged.

“Too bad. We already are. Whether you accept it or not.” Ziva closed her eyes. Wishing not for the first time today that she could wake up and just start over. She nodded and made her way to her bedroom. If they were supposed to be back at 8 she needed to get a move on. 

She pulled a suitcase out of her closet. She didn’t know how long they were going to be at this safe house, so she packed for a few months. Just to be safe. 

When she came out of her bedroom, she saw Tony sitting on her couch, switching through channels on her TV. When he heard her come in, he turned to look at her. 

It was like no matter how many times he saw her in a day, she always found a way to look even more beautiful. Of course all he could do now was stare at her and think how he wished she was his.

She noticed his staring and even though it made her feel butterflies in her stomach, she chose to ignore it for the time being. This was not the time to let feelings surface. They needed to focus on their safety. 

“Are you ready, Tony?” He snapped out of his stupor and got off the couch, shutting the TV off as well.

“Yeah. I got all my stuff in my car. Should be good to go.” She nodded. They made their way down to his car and hopped in. The drive to NCIS silent. When they arrived, Ziva got out of the car faster than he could put the car in park. He had to run to catch up with her.

She hadn’t said a word since her apartment. The ride in the elevator was almost unbearable as he just wanted to comfort her but knew she was just brush him off. The last thing he wanted to do was piss her off. He already wanted this to be over.


	3. Chapter Three

The team going into protective custody consisted of the MCRT team along with Abby, Ducky, and Palmer. Gibbs didn’t want to take any chances against these people. They drove in what felt like circles for two or so hours. Finally, they pulled onto a pathway leading into the woods. The driveway was about a mile long, perfect for a safe house. When they arrived, all of their eyes went wide. This was not an ordinary safe house. It was a beautiful white farmhouse style home. It had pillars throughout all sides of the home and the patio ran alongside it. It looked to be older but still had a somewhat modern look to it. It was beautiful. Nobody was expecting a safehouse like this. They were expecting some tiny log cabin where they had to take turns using a bed or the couch. 

Ziva got out of the car and practically ran into the house. Everybody gave each other a look saying this was going to be a fun “vacation”. Tony was the one that moved first. Wanting to make sure she was okay. Even though he knew all he was going to get would be the “I’m fine” comment. He opened the door to see that the house on the inside was practically just as beautiful as the outside. It had wooden features throughout the home. He was not expecting this to be a safe house. How could it? It looked like it was built more than likely in the 80s but then redone to look more modern. He looked around and looked at the nicely placed furniture throughout the home and couldn’t help but stare at everything. He would love to have a place this nice. He walked up the stairs and noticed that one of the doors was shut. It was one of the first rooms in the hall. He knocked on the door and waited to see if he could hear anything on the other side. When he couldn’t he turned the knob, surprised to find that it wasn’t locked. He saw Ziva standing at the window, looking out towards the backyard and the trees. She looked beautiful, hell when didn’t she. 

She didn’t turn around to look at him. Didn’t even acknowledge his presence. He knew that she knew that he was there. The ninja in here would never disappear even though she wasn’t Mossad anymore. He walked over to her, not failing to notice the beauty of the room. It was huge, which preconceived that this was more than likely the master bedroom. He was behind her when she finally spoke.

“This is all of my fault.” Tony quietly sighed. How could she still be thinking this? It wasn’t her fault these people were coming to kill her. Yes, she did some things in Mossad that would probably make many people angry, but it was her job. She was there to protect her country.

“Ziva.” She silenced him.

“No. I killed him. This was brought on by me.” Tony’s eyes showed surprise. Ziva moved to the bed and sat down, her head in her hands. Tony moved to sit next to her. She allowed him. 

“When I was told that both my mother and Tali were killed, I stopped at nothing to find who killed them. I did not sleep for days on end, barely ate. The sound of their laughs running through my mind kept me awake. Kept me going.” Tony stayed silent. Wanting her to be able to confide in him. 

“My father was not helpful. It was almost like he could not care less that his wife and daughter were now dead. All he cared about was being the director.” A tear slipped down her cheek.

“Tali was only 16.” Tony put his hand on hers, squeezing softly. Silently telling her that he was there. 

“It is my fault that she is dead.” Tony had enough.

“This isn’t your fault, Ziva! This is this maniac’s fault. So please stop saying that!” Ziva stood up, glaring at him. 

“You do not understand! I was supposed to pick her up from school that day. Me! But no, I was too busy so she had to take the bus. The bus that blew up and killed her along with so many innocent kids. So do not say that this is not my fault, because it is!” She turned and went into the bathroom, slamming the door. He had never seen her like this. So emotional, so open to talk. He wasn’t going to let her go into a hole. He got up and went to the door and heard sobs emitting from the other side. 

“Ziva. Please open the door.” The sobs continued until she finally spoke.

“Just leave me alone, Tony.” Tony sighed.

“No. I’m not going to just leave you alone, Ziva. You’re my partner.” His voice had a small crack towards the end. 

“I will be down in a minute. I just need some time to myself right now, Tony.” He hesitated. 

“Fine. But if you're not down in 10 minutes I’m coming back up here.” When he didn’t get a response, he left the room. He walked back down the stairs to see the team seated in the living room. 

“How’s she doing?” Abby asked, worried about her friend. Tony sighed.

“She talked to me some. Then locked herself in the bathroom. I tried to get her to come out but she said she needed a minute.” They all nodded, taking what they were told for right now. They wanted to help Ziva as much as they could but they didn’t really know-how. After all of these years, they didn’t even know that Ziva had a sister. Even more to the fact that she was murdered along with her mother. All of this made them sad. They had no idea what was going through her mind, even less than usual. It was honestly a shocker that she even talked to Tony. 

Tony kept looking at his watch, counting down the minutes until he would go back up there. As his watch struck 9:40 he was about to make his way up when Ziva appeared at the end of the stairway. He sighed in relief that he didn’t have to go bust that door down to get to her. Which he would have if he had to. Even in this beautiful home. She looked at the team with her beautiful brown doe eyes, her face absolutely stoic. Finally, she spoke:

“I am sorry for running in here the way that I did. I just needed a minute to myself.” Gibbs normally would state rule 6, but somewhat seeing the mindset of his agent, he decided against it. This wasn’t the time. 

Ziva walked over and sat on the couch where there was an open space. Nobody spoke for what felt like forever until finally, Ziva cleared her throat.

“I think you all deserve an explanation.”


	4. Chapter Four

Everything was silent in the living room. Everybody waiting for Ziva to speak again. Finally, she spoke:

“15 years ago there was a group known around Israel called Almawl. Which means death in Arabic. My father...did many things that did not please, that angered them. They...decided to make him pay in a way that wasn’t political or professional...but personal.” She sighed and closed her eyes, trying to keep her emotions in check. She didn’t need to break down again.

“My mother...was their first target. She was driving to Haifa when a van crashed into her.” She took another deep breath. 

“She died upon impact. I was 19. I was in the IDF at the time, transitioning over to Mossad. I was called onto the scene by my father.” A tear had made its way down her cheek. 

“I want to be honest with all of you and do not want to hide anything about this. You are all here because of me.” Tony wanted to reach out to her. Wanted to assure her that he was there for her no matter what. 

“When I found out it was her, I...broke down on the side of the road. Something my superiors frowned upon. I had to get over myself to prove that I was capable of being a soldier. Looking back I...wish I had done things differently.” She sighed again. They were all looking at her with shock, disbelief, and concern. She decided to continue.

“Two weeks later, the case was still being investigated. My father had bumped me up to be the lead in the case and I was officially instated into Mossad. During this time, I had gotten a lead from witnesses saying it was a black van but one had the license plate. I matched it to a known associate of the Hassan brothers. I stopped at nothing to find them. I was so caught up in finding her killer that I was not able to pick my little sister, Tali, up from school.” Tony knew this was hard for her. She never opened up like this, ever. He was glad that she was getting it out, but he was also concerned about her reliving it. 

“Amir Hassan had planted a bomb on the bus Tali would ride occasionally. She was killed along with all of the other innocent kids. It is my fault that she is dead.” She looked at her hands, thinking about how many people have died at the hands of her. Even if it was her job, she had taken lives. They were by far not innocent, but it never leaves you. 

“I searched for them for over a year and a half. Him, his brother, and his organization. I found a former associate of the Hassan brothers and he gave me a list with known locations, as well as safe houses that they might use when need be. I went and searched every location, every safe house. At the last one I went to, Amir was there. It was like he was expecting me. He saw me and had this smile on his face like he was...some brilliant man.” Her lip started quivering. She didn’t know how to tell her friends, her family, how she had tortured and killed this man. She didn’t want them to think less of her, be disgusting with her for what she had done. She had been staring at the ground during her explanation, but finally looked up to see their faces. She decided that she had to tell them. Even if they were disgusted with her, they deserved to know the truth.

“I...killed him. But...I also tortured him into giving me information.” She looked at Gibbs. He remained stoic. She could hear a sharp intake of breath from someone in the room, though she didn’t know who. The brief look at their faces was enough to make her look back at the floor. 

It seemed that she was done speaking about the matter as she didn’t open her mouth again. They all didn’t know what to say. It was a lot of information to take in. Ducky was the one to finally speak up.

“My dear, he hurt your family. We do not like down on you for wanting justice for them. You did what you felt was right. Some things may have been done wrong, but I believe you have a great amount of guilt for your actions. I would be more concerned if you didn’t.” Abby stood up, giving Ziva the impression that she was going to leave the room. She, however, surprised Ziva when she wrapped her arms around her. Ziva accepted the hug. Gibbs put his hand on her shoulder, signaling that he had her back. Jimmy gave her a smile and nodded, he was always there. Tim walked over to her and gave her a hug once Abby let go. Tony, however, stayed quiet. He had heard the story about Tali, was the only one that knew she even existed.

Just when she thought she was going to start crying, he reached over and grasped her hand in his and squeezed it softly. Just like he had done upstairs in the bedroom. He was assuring her that he wasn’t going anywhere. It made her feel so much better that her friends, her team, her family were still behind her even though she told them about one of the darkest times in her life, and that was saying something. 

They were in her corner and they didn’t plan on leaving anytime soon.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know that Ziva is more emotional and more open in this fic than she normally would be. I wanted it to be that way. This is a very difficult and emotional subject for Ziva as it involved the deaths of her mother and her sister. There will eventually be TIVA and some McAbby but for right now I think I'm going to focus more on the case. Hope you enjoyed it and please leave a review if you feel like it. They are very much appreciated.


	5. Chapter Five

Now that the truth was out about the situation and they had more details, they could finally begin trying to track Arif. They had brought files and secure computers so that they could work on the case but not be tracked to their location. Some of McGee’s work. 

Ducky and Jimmy didn’t really have fieldwork abilities other than autopsies, but they were still given the file on Arif Hassan to do a mental evaluation. Something that Jimmy was now somewhat trained in thanks to Ducky. They all gathered around the dining room table which matched the rest of the house with a farmhouse style picnic table in the middle of the room and wood pillars on the ceiling. There was a wooden bookshelf in the corner and the window was in the center of the room. 

Abby and McGee were searching on their laptops that they brought for any crimes in the past 15 years that could be connected to Almawt. During their search, McGee turned to Ziva.

“Ziva, does the name Ajmal Akeem ring any bells?” Ziva froze. 

“He is a known associate with the Hassan brothers.” She turned back to her file. Everybody around the table noticed her reaction but decided now might not be the best time to ask her about it. She already gave them a lot of information about this and even let them see her more emotional side. 

They went back to their files. Abby threw her hands in the air and yelled.

“I got something! Prints were found at a murder scene in Anacostia in 2006. Victim was Jose Luis, a known Mexican drug cartel leader in the area.” 

“They weren’t very careful if their prints were found,” Tony stated. Surely they would make sure that it couldn’t be traced back to them.

“They make sure to leave their prints. They want to be known. Want their victims to be added to their continuous list.”

“So they want to be famous. They want their names to be known.” Tony concluded. Ziva nodded. 

Gibbs looked at his watch and noticed that it was nearing 1 o’clock in the morning and sent them all to bed. He gratefully gave Ziva the master bedroom and Tony the one beside it. Something Tony was very relieved about. He didn’t want to be too far from her. Wanted to be there as fast as possible if she needed him. The team disbanded to their own rooms throughout the house and got ready for bed. 

Ziva stepped into her room and sighed. The room was beautiful but she couldn’t find the space in her mind to focus on it. All she could think about was that her family's killers were still out there. Even after all these years. She believed for so long that they were dead. That they wouldn’t be a problem anymore. Apparently, she was wrong. She made her way to the master bathroom, stipped out of her clothes, and hopped into the shower, letting the hot water pour over her. She let the tears fall as was overcome with the emotional damage of this case. 

Finally, after around 20 minutes of her curled up in a ball on the floor of the shower, she washed along her body, wanting to scrub away the pain. Something that was impossible. 

In the other room, Tony sat on his bed. The room wasn’t as big as the master, but it was still a good size for him. He hoped the other rooms were comfortable for the others. 

He couldn’t stop thinking about Ziva. He knew she was hurting, something that was evident. But, he couldn’t help the need to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay. He knew that she wouldn’t accept his embrace but he was still willing to give it a try. He shook his head, maybe not tonight. She would most likely want to be alone. 

He stood up from the bed and walked to his bathroom, glad that he had his own. He jumped in the shower quickly, very much ready for bed.


	6. Chapter Six

The next morning Ziva was the first one up. She woke to see the sunlight shining through her window on her face, giving her a warm feel. When she first opened her eyes, she was confused as to where she was. She wasn’t expecting the beautiful interior of this room, instead, she was expecting the pale walls of her apartment. She looked around and was surprised that she got some sleep last night. After a nightmare, she didn’t think that she would be able to fall back asleep. She didn’t think Gibbs would appreciate her going on her routine morning run, so she just settled with looking at the ceiling, wondering what the others were doing. She looked at the clock beside her bed and saw that it was 0500, meaning everybody else was probably still asleep. Ziva wasn’t the kind of person to just be able to lie in bed when she was wide awake. She got out of the bed, flipping the covers off of her, and made her way to her bathroom. She turned on the shower, stripped from her clothes, and hopped in. The warm water burning its way down her body, pooling at her feet. Unlike last night, she made it a point to be in and out, hoping to avoid a mental breakdown of any sort.

When she got out she redressed in a pair of her casual cargo pants and a dark green top. She put socks on but didn’t bother with shoes as there was no point. She opened the door to her bedroom and went down the stairs, making her way to the kitchen.

She was expecting nobody to be up as it was still early in the morning. She was mistaken. Tony stood looking out the sliding doors that connected the living room to the outdoor patio. The moonlight accented his features in a perfect way. 

It was like he could sense her because he turned around and looked at her with tired eyes. 

“Hey.” His voice was quiet, as to not wake the others. 

“What are you doing up? After yesterday I was sure that you would asleep.” She saw his shoulders shrug in the darkness. 

“Mind was too occupied. Couldn’t wind down.” Ziva nodded her head in understanding. He moved closer to her.

“What about you? What are you doing up?” She too shrugged her shoulders. 

“Same thing.” She could see the turn of his head, knowing that he didn’t believe her. She could see his green eyes looking at her with the same intensity that he always used. But something about tonight made it look even more intriguing. 

“Nightmare.” She finally said. Even though that wasn’t the whole truth. He took it as enough and made his way to the kitchen, she followed. She reached into the pantry and grabbed the box of oatmeal that she brought with her. Her back was turned to focus on her food, but she couldn’t ignore Tony’s gaze that was still on her. It made goosebumps erupt on her skin, and a shiver goes down her spine. This was not the time. She finished with her preparations and started to head towards the dining room where all of their computers and documents were. Tony saw this and intercepted.

“How about we try to go back asleep? At least for a few more hours.” She gave him a glare.

“I am perfectly capable of looking through these files on my own.” He grabbed her hand, the one that wasn’t holding her oatmeal bowl, and gave her a reassuring squeeze. 

“I’m not doubting you. I just think that we should wait for everyone to wake up before we continue looking through them.” Ziva knew that he was right though. The team needed to be included. She reluctantly nodded. She finished her oatmeal and put the bowl in the sink. She had expected Tony to have already headed up the stairs to his room, but he was standing behind her, looking at her intently. What was it about the way he looked at her that made her feel all tingly inside? She let out an involuntary shiver and Tony thinking that she was cold, walked over to her and wrapped an arm around her. She looked up and could see the shiny green of his eyes. She looked down to his lips, wanting nothing more than to kiss him, but she knew that now wasn’t the time.

But when would it be?

Things were never in their favor when it came to moments like this. Everything would always get in the way or they would get interrupted. When would be the right moment for them to finally take that step? She could see that he was looking at her too. Not just at her but at her lips. He wanted to kiss her too. Before their lips could touch, Ziva pulled out of his embrace and began her trek back up the stairs. Tony was left stunned in the kitchen. He could feel that she wanted to kiss him just as much as he wanted to kiss her. When would they stop this push and pull game? He was getting sick of it. He ran up the stairs trying to catch up to her but was only met with her shutting her bedroom door. 

This was going to be a long case.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading! I am going to be taking a little break from NCIS High School to focus on some other stories. Don't worry though, NCIS HS is not leaving forever. It will be back. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this little chapter. It was an idea that popped into my head in one of my late-night thinking sessions. If you feel up to it, comment on what you think and where you think it's headed. Love you all :) P


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